Terror makes the Blood Run Cold
by MysteriousZebra
Summary: The thing about terrorist attacks are that they can happen to anyone. You just have o be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Invovles Starkid and also contains reference to Breredith, Laurwalk and a little Joime. x x x
1. Chapter 1

**YAY! New starkid fic! **

After 9 hours of driving the starkids let out a unanimous sigh of relief as the tour buses finally rolled to a stop. Joey raced to the front of the bus and flung the door open, inhaling a deep breath of fresh air, before being shoved forward by the rest of the starkids.

"So where do we go from here?" Jaime asked looking expectantly at Julia as she stepped down on to the sidewalk.

"Well the bus can't take us in to the city any further so we'll have to get the Metro to get to the hotel. I think Darren is meeting us there."

"Ugh are you serious? I thought I would have a few weeks free from subways and creepy people touching me while we were on tour," Meredith moaned resting her head on Brian's shoulder, "one time this women tried to but her gum in my ear."

Julia ignored the whining and set about organising the transport of baggage and making sure they had everything. Darren was currently filming scenes for Glee in Washington and seeing as they had no Apocalyptour show scheduled for that night, they had arranged to meet up before driving down to New York. Julia did a quick headcount and stopped as she realised she was one short,

"Wait shh… guys, where's Lauren?" she shouted above the buzz of voices.

"I'll check the bus," Joe volunteered and rushed back on board. A few seconds later he emerged with a sleepy looking Lauren trudging along behind him. Lauren squinted as the sunlight hit her face and buried her head in Joe's back to shield her eyes.

"Here take this," Joe offered removing his baseball cap and placing it on Lauren's head.

"Thanks Walks," she yawned before looking around at her friends while zipping up her hoody,

"So? Are we going or what?" she questioned. Julia gave Lauren a patronising look before continuing,

"Yes we better, otherwise I'll be getting a thousand voicemails from Darren telling us to hurry up...Ok we're getting the red line from here to Jefferson Street," she called out while examining a tattered map.

As they descended down the grimy steps to the underground platform, Meredith sighed in obvious disgust. Brian put his arm around her lovingly and her mood immediately brightened,

"Don't worry, I won't let any creeps near you Mere," he whispered giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Meredith blushed and slipped her hand into his. Behind her she could hear Joey and Lauren messing with one another and smiled as she realised how lucky she was to be able to spend time with these people.

"Lo put your hood up, and you could be rocking the gangster look with that hat," Joey teased falling into step alongside her.

"I don't need a hood to establish my awesomeness Joey," Lauren responded with a cheeky smile, only to stumble into Charlene, who had stopped abruptly in front of her, seconds later. Joey grabbed her before she could fall face first on to the ground while completely failing to hide his laughter,

"Yep, you're the coolest Lo."

"Shut up."

Brian looked around and noticed a burly male figure watching them. He was dressed entirely in black clothing and Brian felt an uneasy feeling settle in him. He tightened his grip on Meredith's waist and pulled her closer to him. He tore his eyes away, however he could feel the man's stare bearing down on the group. He glanced over to where the guy had been standing, however their darkly clad observer had disappeared.

A deafening rumble echoed through the underground platform and seconds later a train came screeching to a stop in front of them. The automated doors slid open and the waiting crowd surged forward against an equally large crush of people stepping off.

The Starkids squeezed in and most of them managed to get a hold of one of the poles before the train lurched into motion. Lauren gripped Joe's t-shirt and he wrapped his arm around her tightly, making sure she was secure. He glanced down at her. She was so small sometimes he couldn't help but worry for her safety, especially over the last few weeks where they'd experienced crowds of fans engulfing them consistently.

He looked up and caught Dylan staring at him with an amused smirk on his face. Joe had learnt at the beginning of the tour that apparently his little crush on Lauren wasn't such a secret and the guys had been teasing him about ever since... it was how he would tell Lauren was the problem. What if she didn't like him back? As they neared their stop the crowd on the train began to thin out a bit.

"Just two more stops before ours," Julia informed them and rolled her eyes as Meredith let out an exaggerated sigh of relief .

Meredith, similar to Lauren, was relying on Brian to keep her upright, although it was easier now that they had more space. Jaime shivered and brushed a piece of stray hair from her eyes. Suddenly the lights began to flicker and the carriage took on an eerie glow in the half light, as well as quietening considerably.

It was just a little darkness, yet an ominous feeling had settled. Jaime caught the eyes of a little girl who was sitting next to her mother, gripping a tattered blue teddy bear. The girl's eyes were wide and Jaime gave her a friendly warm smile.

Without warning she felt herself flung forward as the train was plunged into complete darkness and sharply came to a complete stop. Sub-consciously the starkids found themselves huddled in a tight circle. They could hear the confusion and panic in the voices of people surrounding them. Lauren blinked a few times and slowly her eyes began to adjust slightly to the dark,

"What should we do? Should we try calling for help, or maybe there's an emergency button?" she asked stepping forward tentatively and feeling her hand along the wall trying to locate one,

"My phone's not getting any signal," Meredith announced.

"Mine isn't either."

"Nothing."

Lauren watched as everyone's heads shook from side to side, confirming they had no method of communicating with anyone outside the train.

"Look it'll be fine, another train will come along and see we're in trouble and alert someone," Charlene pointed out, and for a moment everyone seemed to relax.

"These trains go up to 85 miles an hour, what if they can't stop and ram into us?" Dylan spoke from the back of the group.

The feeling of fear returned and Jaime turned around as she heard a few soft sobs coming from the little girl she had smiled at earlier. She'd almost forgotten how many other people were actually around her and suddenly she began to get the sickening feeling that this 'breakdown' might not be an accident.

The worry of another train crashing into them was suddenly abolished as a deafening bang sounded. Julia felt the ground tremble causing everyone to grab hold of whatever was nearest them. She felt her ears pop painfully as the pressure waves pushed her ears to the extreme. Eventually the ground became still again.

"Mom, was that?" the little girl stuttered, clinging to her mother's blouse. Her mother hushed at her daughter softly to calm her and stroked her hair reassuringly. The overhead speaker began to crackle and the train fell into complete silence. Brian could hear Meredith's rapid breaths and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Suddenly a male voice began to speak loudly over the intercom,

"Passengers, apologies for the inconvenience however I'm afraid this train will go no further….and unfortunately neither will the people on it. You happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. We promise… your deaths will be quick."

The speaker cut off and for a minute no one uttered a sound, before the screaming and wailing began and panic set in. The realisation hit everyone like a gunshot to the stomach.

How could this be happening? Joey stood still as he tried to process everything in his head. Only an hour ago he'd been playing Angry Birds on his iphone and now he was the victim of some kind of terrorist attack? He felt himself slide down the wall and put his head in his hands. Surely this wasn't the end?

**What will happen to the starkids next? Will they make it out alive?**

**x x x until next tim **


	2. Chapter 2

**This will get more exciting as the story goes on, I'm just trying to set the scene for what's to come x x** **Please leave a review and let me know what you think and your prediction **

"This is bullshit! Who's stopping us from just breaking one of these windows and walking back along the track?" Joe stepped out defiantly and disabling a fire extinguisher from the wall.

"Joe…"

"It's a hoax, it has to be," Joe interrupted before Dylan could say any more, "and if it isn't we can't just sit here and wait for something to happen," Joe looked around at all his friend, lingering a little longer on Lauren. Her face was pale and full of fear however as he made eye contact with her she stepped from the group towards him,

"Joe's right we have to try."

The rest of the carriage had quietened and now everyone sat or stood looking to Joe expectantly. He turned to face the window but found the little girl's mother standing in his way,

"I'm sorry ma'am but if you could stand back from the window?"

She didn't budge and as Joe began to repeat the question she slowly pulled a black hand-gun from her bag and pointed it at him. His face drained of colour and there was a collective intake of breath from the rest of the carriage as two other men at either end of the compartment stood and drew out guns also.

"There's always a rebellious hero who thinks he can save everyone with one. Simple. Solution," the woman tutted and Joe stepped back cautiously while keeping an eye on the barrel of the gun.

"Here's a tip kid, nothing in life comes that easy."

"Who are you people?" Brian asked, stepping in front of Meredith protectively.

"Who we are does not concern you," she responded coldly.

"It's funny how self-centred society has become. We requested a ransom for all you people and do you know what the police did? Nothing… it was quiet unfortunate for those people on that train further down the tracks. Shame really… it was even busier than this one."

Jaime felt her stomach heave as she realised the source of the explosion they had heard earlier. Would that be their fate too?

"But… but, what about your child?" Jaime asked quietly pointing at the little girl who was staring down at the floor hugging her teddy close to her chest.

The women laughed, "what? Just because I've a child I'm not classified for this kind of work?"

They heard the carriage door that lead to the next compartment open and a tall man entered holding a gun in his gloved hand. He was one of them.

"Kate they've contacted us," he informed the woman in a deep gravelly voice. Joey listened intently and realised that they must be talking about the police responding and he couldn't help but feel a little ounce of hope rise up inside him.

"They've offered 500k," he stated.

"How many are on board?" she asked interested, her gun still drifting dangerously over Joe's chest. He was slowly inching backwards towards his friends but his heart was pounding so heavily in his chest he felt like the entire train must be able to hear it.

"About 100 I think, the other carriages are a lot emptier. We're sending up 50 now."

Suddenly a loud screaming noise came from the end of the carriage from a young woman.

"Shut up," Kate roared at her. The woman's cries got louder as she stood up and started storming towards Kate with a deranged pleading look on her face, begging for mercy. Lauren watched as Kate turned the gun on her and casually pulled the trigger. The woman fell to ground with a loud thump and Lauren felt a tear slide down her cheek. Slowly she went to walk over to the still body on the ground but Joey grabbed her arm and held her back,

"She might be still alive," Lauren choked.

"She's not. I never miss," Kate interrupted with a sick smirk on her face, "Although I doubt we'll get anything for her now, or do they accept bodies?" she joked, turning to her accomplice.

He said nothing and stared emotionless at the young woman's body, that had a scarlet stain soaking through her sweater.

"Send up the 50 from the rest of the carriages and send the rest in here. We'll keep everyone together."

The man nodded and left, stepping over the body on his way out. Kate seemed to be the leader; however there were obviously more of them in other parts of the train. She now faced the Starkids and grinned maliciously,

"I'd sit down if I were you, you'll be here a while."

Lauren still had her eyes on the lifeless body that lay only a few metres away. She'd never seen someone die before and Lauren couldn't help replay the moment the woman's body had hit the ground over and over in her head. She sniffled loudly and Joe put his arm around her comfortingly and pulled her head into his chest.

Next to them Brian rubbed small circles with his thumb on Meredith's hand as she rested her head on his shoulder. He was scared, scared that he would never get to live out the rest of his life. He was scared for Meredith and for his friends. He looked down at his and Meredith's interlinked hands and promised himself that if they made it out of this thing alive, he would marry her. She was his soul-mate and the prospect of not spending every moment he possibly could with her seemed ridiculous.

After a few minutes the carriage doors opened and a small group of people were led in. Most of them were elderly or men, whose family's were now safe. Joey got up from his seat and offered it to a frail old gentleman who accepted it gratefully. Joey sank down on the floor instead and watched the rest of the newcomers find a space.

The guy who had talked to Kate earlier had returned with the group and another stocky man and a blonde woman had entered also. They positioned themselves throughout the compartment and Joe couldn't help but notice that Kate had remained right in front of him and his friends. Sometime he caught her watching them, but it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

The hostages sat in silence for what seemed like forever, terrified to talk for fear they would end up the next victim of Kate's gun. Julia checked her watch and saw that it was almost 20.30. _Darren is probably wondering where we are_ she thought to herself while pulling a thread on her sleeve and watching it slowly unravel.

A phone rang and everyone's head rose in terror. The blonde woman answered it and spoke into the receiver. They watched in silence as she pressed the end call button.

"10 more Kate," she spoke clearly.

Kate nodded and looked around. Joey glanced up at the old man sitting next to him, who was holding an old tattered photograph of who Joey presumed must be his wife, and then around at the rest of the carriage occupants,

"Let the children and elderly go…. Please?" he asked, standing up slowly and helping the old man to his feet while looking Kate directly in the eyes.

"Fine," she agreed raising her eyebrows amused, "it's all the same to me."

Five children and an old couple as well as the old man were gathered and led to the door at the top of the carriage, leaving the opportunity for two more people to go with them. Lauren lifted her head from Joe's chest and spotted Charlene and Julia huddled together shaking. Charlene was hyperventilating and both girls eyes were wide.

"Please can they go," she asked sitting up and looking to her two friends. She knew Meredith and Jaime wouldn't leave without Brian and Joey, and there was no way she was leaving without Joe, however she could get Julia and Charlene free.

"Lo…." Julia croaked as she was pulled roughly to her feet.

"I'll see you soon Jules," she responded through the fresh tears that now spilled down her cheeks.

Julia was shoved through the compartment door and looked back to see her best friend's brown eyes staring after her.

"Keep it moving," one of the men growled poking her in the back with his gun forcing her to tear her eyes away from Lauren's face. She couldn't help but ask herself if she would ever see them again. The train door was opened and just as Julia stepped down onto the tracks from the train she heard another gunshot pierce her ears. Julia stopped momentarily before continueing... the sound had made her blood run cold.

"Probably Kate scaring them," one of the guys laughed and Julia could only hope that he was right as the group were left to find their own way up from the abandoned underground platform to the flashing police cars on the surface, while two escorts left to return to the train.

**Are we one starkid down after that gunshot?**

**until next tim **


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally, chapter 3! Sorry for the delay! I don't even know if anybody reads this story! This is kind of a filler chapter but I hope ye enjoy. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited so far, I really appreciate it. Please please please let me know what ye think and revie x**

Joe looked down at the bullet shaped wound in his chest and watched as the blood stained his Spiderman t-shirt. Slowly he raised his head and met Lauren's horrified gaze,

"Joe," she whispered

Joe raised his hand and cupped her face in his palm. He smiled sadly as a single tear escaped Lauren's eyes and he wiped it away with his thumb. His lungs felt like they were burning up and he could feel his eyes drooping. The pain wasn't as bad as he'd imagined it would be but the numbness that replaced it was far from reassuring,

"Oops," Kate smirked, "I never really liked him anyway."

Lauren felt Joe's hand slipping from her face and sobbed,

"Joe pl…pl.. please, please, don't die. I love you Joe."

Joe's eyes flickered open and he took a deep rasping breath. However despite his condition he managed to choke out a small laugh,

"You… love…me?" he asked incredulously, each word requiring immense effort, "I've been… waiting…years to…hear you…say that…to me."

His voice was now barely more than a whisper. He opened his mouth to continue but Lauren shook her head and hushed him,

"No, save your energy. Do not give up."

Joe examined her face and cursed the hope that still lingered in her eyes. Black spots began to cloud his vision and he knew that this could be the last time he saw her face,

"Lauren?... I love you too... always."

These were his last words before the darkness consumed him completely and the feel of Lauren's lips on his forehead as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Joey kneeled forward and gently prised Lauren away from Joe.

"Lo …"

"No, he isn't dead! He's not," she cried, pushing him away.

"I never said he was."

"You think he's going to die though."

Joey bit back a response and bowed his head, unable to look at Joe's lifeless body or face Lauren's heartbroken expression. Kate had long since gotten bored of their sobbing and was now at the bottom of the carriage speaking to one of her accomplices in hushed tones. Two of the other men were standing together watching them and it struck Joey as odd that they hadn't said anything yet or pulled Lauren away.

Jaime watched in silence as she watched the life slowly slipping away from Joe. He had always been the strong one. She'd forgotten that there were a number of other people on board and she could feel the pity in their eyes as they watched Lauren mourn.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jaime saw a small figure move and as she turned she saw it was Kate's daughter. She watched, along with the rest of the Starkid's as the little girl approached Lauren and tapped her gently on the shoulder. Lauren turned hesitantly and stared at her in shock,

"Here," she said, thrusting her teddy into Lauren's hands. Kate stopped talking and watched through narrowed eyes as her daughter tried to comfort one of her hostages. Lauren's eyes, now swollen and red from crying, flitted between the little girl and Kate. She swallowed bravely and wiped her cheeks,

"No sweetie, you keep him… he's your friend."

The little girl began to shake her head and continued to try and shove the teddy into Lauren's arms,

"When I cry he helps me lots…. He can help you too," she insisted.

Lauren nodded this time and took the bear,

Thank you," she whispered softly.

"Alice!"

The little girl jumped as she heard her name and scuttled away from Lauren. Kate gave her a disapproving glare before turning to the Starkids. Lauren slowly got to her feet and stood between Joe and Kate,

"He needs help," she said, stuttering slightly, however there was a strength behind her words, "please? Let him go. I'll stay until the very end. You'll need one person to secure your escape without the police attacking. Let me be your security"

"Lauren, NO," Jaime insisted, going to get up however Joey stopped her. She knew Lauren was practically booking herself a death sentence. Once these people got away, they'd have no trouble discarding any excess weight. Kate's lips curled upwards slightly,

"Fine," she said menacingly, "I doubt he'll make it anyway."

She turned to two of the men, "Marcus, Shane? Take him up."

Lauren watched as Joe was lifted from the floor and carried away. How ironic, she thought bitterly, only an hour ago I thought that maybe both us could make it out of this thing alive

* * *

"_Lo? Next time the phone rings…"_

"_No Joe, I know what you're going to say. We leave together. Neither gets left behind."_

"_Lauren … please?"_

_She turned her head to face him and saw the desperation in his eyes. Why did he have to do this to her? For the first time in a long time she felt old feelings begin to resurface. _

"Ok, but i_f I go," she stuttered, "you have to promise me something."_

_Joe nodded,_

"…_that you will make it out too as soon as you can."_

"_Promise," he responded, plastering a fake smile on his face._

* * *

Lauren had seen the lie in his eyes. He'd had no intention of leaving until everyone else was safe. It was a quality she'd always admired in him, his selflessness. If she could do one thing, it was this. By abolishing her own chances of surviving, she could try and save Joe's.

She sat down slowly and pulled her knees into her chest. She looked across to Meredith who was staring at her like she was a ghost. Meredith seemed to realise that Lauren was watching her and tried to stop the stream of tears that were flowing down her cheeks. Everything she needed to convey to Lauren was expressed in those tears and Lauren felt her stomach churn sickeningly at the thought of not seeing her friends faces again. She loved them all so much.

No one said a word. There was nothing more to be said. The phone rang frequently and with each phone call more passengers were escorted out. Each time two of Kate's men would return with a small black bag containing the ransom money.

Eventually, it was only the Starkids left. It was inevitable now that one of them was going to die. They stiffened as the phone rang again and the freedom of five more people was secured. Looking around, it was non-verbally agreed that Meredith, Brian, Jaime, Brian(Rosenthal) and Dylan would go. Joey had immediately shaken his head and bravely volunteered to stay with Lauren until the end.

Despite the endless hours of waiting for this moment of safety to finally come, Jaime felt cold and empty. She felt a sharp jab in her back as Marcus pushed her forwards however she stopped and looked back at Lauren's small vulnerable figure curled up on the floor,

"Please can I just say goodbye?" she asked desperately. Marcus looked to Kate for approval however Kate was talking quietly to her daughter and didn't seem in any way interested in the current departures. Marcus nodded curtly and stepped aside. Jaime lunged towards Lauren and engulfed her tiny friend in her arms,

"Why does it have to be you?" she whispered into Lauren's ear.

"It just does Jaime, it just does," Lauren replied softly, "make me proud Jaime Lyn. Record an album, get on broadway… achieve your dreams. Could you do one thing for me and tell my parents I love them?"

Jaime nodded before Lauren continued, "Also... don't tell Joe about the bargain I made to keep him safe. I don't want him blaming himself. If he's even still alive..." she trailed off.

"He is, I just know he's still alive Lo," Jaime reassured her, "Lo? Keep Joey safe for me."

Lauren pulled back and, "I promise." Promising anything meant very little though and Lauren knew this. Her own promise to Joe hadn't exactly worked out. However as she looked into to Jaime's beautiful blue eyes she vowed to make sure Joey stayed safe.

Jaime now stood up and followed the rest out. Lauren watched until she could no longer see her and was only able to relax when Marcus and the other man returned alone. "Just one more person to keep alive," she whispered to herself.

Joey wrapped his arm around her and rested his head on hers.

"Two people," he corrected her.

"What?"

"You've got two people to try to keep alive. Me and you," Joey sighed, "we've never given up without a fight before and we're not going to this time."

Lauren didn't say anything to this and instead chose to cherish her last moments with Joey. Of all the people to stay with her, she was glad it was him. He would keep her calm. However she was aware that as the clock ticked, the final phone call was fast approaching and soon she would be left alone.

**There are so many twists to come! ;) What do you guys think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh look, I'm back to torture you all! Only joking, but in all seriousness this story ain't gonna help the feels! Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed. I loved reading them all! Keep it up and I hope you enjoy **

**Reviewers: **

**Rylee: **_Aw thank you, I'm pretty sure there are far better fanfics out there than this. Ya the fear and romance is fun to write. x x_ x

**starkid5ever32:** _I know, but it just has to be Lauren. There's more twists to come and you'll keep asking yourself 'why Lo?' Thanks, I really do hope people actually want me to keep going with this._

**TearsOfaClown: **_Oh no, sorry about the attack on the feels, but there are more to come I'm afraid, hope you can handle it! I'll probably update about once a week because I've other fics too that I can't just drop but this is my favourite at the moment so I'm hopeful that my updates will be consistent. Will Lauren survive? Will Joe survive? You're going to have to wait and see ;)_

**PotterFanatic: **_I know, it seems odd that it's only chapter 3 but the train bit is only a stage for the real plot. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjo _

**starkidllamas-llama:** _Patience XD I know I'm being mean with the cliffhangers but it's a suspenseful story. Thanks for the review x x _

**Fudge-The-Tie:** _Those feels are gonna stay broken I'm afraid. At least for a while ;) Thanks x x _

**I-Wanna-Be-A-Starkid-Fangirl:** _I'm so sorry I kept you waiting for an update, I promise I won't leave such long gaps again. Thanks for the review x x _

**Beffax3:** _I like to switch things up a bit, instead of being all romance stuff all the time ;) thanks and sorry for making you wait so long for an update x x _

**C:** _Your wishes have finally been answered. Sorry for the lack of an update and thanks for reading x x _

**Guest:** _Thank you, I'm glad you liked it x x _

* * *

Julia's breath caught as she saw two men emerge from the underground. What was going on? No ransom call had been made. Her brow furrowed in confusion as her eyes landed on a third figure between them and her hand flew to her mouth upon seeing the large blood stain on the man's chest. Suddenly she noticed the Starkid converse, the familiar red t-shirt and scruffy fair hair,

"Joe," she gasped

She stood up, causing the ambulance attendee to jump. Julia pulled away from the emergency crew, ignoring their attempts to call her back and began to make her way through to Joe. A police officer stepped in front of her, his face serious,

"Ma'am this is a closed of area, you need to stay back," he insisted

Julia hardly heard his words and was far more interested in what was going on behind him. The two men, who had brought Joe up were backing away, their guns ready, and a flurry of medical professionals now surrounded her friend's body,

"That man… over there," she said, staring at Joe's lifeless form, "he's my friend. Is he… is he alive?"

The police officer followed her gaze and turned back to her, his face softening as he saw a tear escape the corner of her eye,

"I don't know… What's his name Ma'am? I can go over and inquire for you."

"Joe," she whispered, "his name's Joe Walker."

The police man nodded slightly and ducked under the plastic barrier. Julia took a deep breath and tried to reassure herself that Joe was going to be just fine. She tore her eyes away from him for second, scouring the surrounding scene, but there was no sign that any other passengers had come up with Joe. Meredith, Brian, Lauren, Joey, Jaime, Dylan and Brian were still down there. She felt someone touch her shoulder and looked up to see that the police officer had returned,

"He's still alive," he informed her gravely, "but his condition is critical and quickly deteriorating. He'll be moved shortly and taken to hospital. If you would like to travel in the ambulance with him…"

"Yes, he needs somebody," Julia interrupted hastily. After a minute she turned to the police officer again, "Why did ye let the men that brought Joe up get away?"

"Well, considering there is still approximately 50 civilians trapped down there, the risk would be too high. Until we feel we've gotten the maximum amount of people out safely that we possibly can, we can make no further advancement. It's a very delicate situation and unfortunately, they have the upper hand."

Julia nodded her understanding and watched as Joe was lifted onto a gurney. She followed the police officer over to the waiting ambulance. and found herself shaking as she climbed in next to her friend and took his hand,

"I'm here Walker, don't you dare give up," she choked, "we need you… Lauren needs you. She's going to be out soon and you have to be here for her when she does... She loves you too you know."

Julia sat almost waiting for a response but Joe remained still and unmoving except for the weak rise and fall of his chest. His face was pale and his red Spiderman shirt had been cut away. A young doctor sat beside Julia, monitoring Joe's stats and holding a thick cloth over the bullet wound in an attempt to staunch the blood loss,

They reached the hospital within minutes and Joe was whisked away to surgery. A kind faced middle-aged nurse approached Julia and took her arm,

"Come with me sweetie, we need to get you checked over."

"I'm fine," Julia insisted, still staring at the double doors through which Joe had disappeared.

The nurse nodded, "I'll show you the waiting room."

Julia reluctantly agreed and allowed the nurse to guide her away. The nurse tried to comfort her by saying that Joe was in good hands, but Julia couldn't relax. Out of all her friends, was it possible that Joe was in the best scenario? They were still hostages in a train that could explode at any minute, not to mention the psychopaths pointing guns at them. Julia took a seat and looked up at the nurse,

"If you need anything, just ask," she said softly

"Could…could you let me know if more people who were on the train are brought here," Julia asked hesitantly, "I have friends that are still… down there."

"Of course, I'll have someone keep an eye out for them."

"Thank you," Julia murmured, sinking back into the armchair for the long wait.

* * *

Julia looked up exhausted as she heard the door open again. For the past 6 hours countless nurses had been updating her on Joe's condition. Charlene had joined her hours ago but neither felt like talking much, so they just sat in silence.

This time however as the door opened, Julia felt a load lift of her shoulders as her eyes landed on her friends. She stood up and looked at them, disbelievingly before breaking down. They piled into the stingy waiting room and pulled each other into a group hug,

"Thank God, you're all ok. I thought… because it was so long... "she sobbed, unable to finish.

"How's Joe?" Jaime asked quietly, thinking of Lauren.

"He's in surgery. A doctor or nurse comes in every half hour or so to update us on his condition but they won't give any definate answers when you ask," Charlene replied.

"Where are Lauren and Joey?" Julia asked suspiciously, looking around.

Dylan caught Brian's eye, silently debating whether they should tell her. The colour slowly drained from Julia's cheeks as the realisation hit,

"They're still on the train."

It wasn't a question, but a statement and no one contradicted her.

"Are they ok?" she asked quietly

"They're not hurt," Meredith answered, "but…" She looked around now for help as tears pricked her eyes.

Brian, seeing her discomfort, wrapped his arm around her waist and turned to Julia, "Juls I think you should sit down for this..."

* * *

_It's like the calm before the storm_, Lauren thought. Neither Joey or herself said anything as they waited for the phone to ring and the atmosphere in carriage was some how far less tense. Lauren had her head resting on Joey's shoulder and no one was paying them too much attention. Despite the fact that she knew this peace was merely temporary, Lauren felt at ease. She was doing this for Joe. All he had to do was survive and it would be worth it.

She still had the Alice's blue teddy bear clutched to her chest and as she looked up her eyes met with the young girl's. She wondered if this was how Alice would grow up to be, a killing machine. It was difficult to imagine now, she was still so young, but these people would be well able to brainwash even the most innocent.

Suddenly a shrill ringing erupted from the small black mobile, causing her to jump and her bravery began to evaporate. She felt Joey's hand tighten around her protectively. Kate's eyes flitted over to the pair huddled on the ground before she pressed the answer button. They could just about hear the sound of a male voice on the other end of the line stating that they had the cash for the final two hostages. After a moment Kate ended the call and turned to them,

"Time to go."

Joey felt Lauren ripped away from him as he was roughly pulled to his feet,

"Take him up and meet us as planned," Kate stated, turning to Marcus, "you know the drill."

Marcus nodded and made to grab Joey's arm,

"Wait," Joey insisted, "I want to swap with Lauren."

Lauren's eyes went wide with fear and she began to shake her head frantically as the promise she made with Jaime struck her. Kate raised her eye brows in amusement and smirked,

"No, Lauren and myself have a deal...and I don't like to break a promise."

Joey looked past her and saw Lauren with her head bowed. The guy, Shane, had his arm across her front, pinning her to his chest and a black hand gun was pointed at her temple. She looked so frightened and tiny, her head barely reaching his shoulder.

"Lauren…" he started

"Please," she whispered, lifting her head and giving him a weak smile, "just go. I'm ok."

Joey cleared his throat and nodded, knowing deep down that Lauren would never let him take her place, "love you Lo, remember that. Remember always that we love you."

With that Joey was pulled towards the carriage door and he watched as Lauren was carried away in the opposite direction. He knew in that moment that he would never forgive himself for not being able to save her. Memories of their friendship flooded his mind and he felt his eyes water. What would happen to her after this? Would they ever see her again? Would her body turn up in a few weeks? The thought killed him.

As they climbed the underground steps Joey began to hear the sound of people and sirens. It was weird to think that the rest of the world was still there. He had no idea how long he'd been down there but it felt like a lifetime ago that he had been enjoying a normal life. He squinted his eyes as the sunlight hit his face.

Suddenly a gunshot went off and Joey froze, looking around in confusion. It had sounded too close to have been Lauren. A swarm of police officers surrounded him and guided him forwards, towards a waiting ambulance and as he looked over his shoulder he was shocked to see the body of Marcus lying dead on the tarmacadam. Police officers were filing into the underground, weapons aloft. He stopped, refusing to move any further,

"What about the bomb?" he inquired fearfully, thinking of Lauren still down there, "aren't you afraid they'll activate it."

"This is our last chance," one of the police women answered, pointing to Marcus "we either let them escape or take the risk. We've gotten as many people out as we possibly can."

Joey nodded. Perhaps there was a small chance that Lauren would be ok if the police caught them and he chose to hold onto that hope. He stood waiting, and not once did he tear his eyes away from the entrance to the underground. He strained his ears, listening for a gunshot or some other sound that might tell him what was going on below.

Finally, he saw a police officer emerge, carrying a red baseball cap, the one that Joe had given Lauren only hours before. More police officers began to resurface and Joey saw one of the older, more mature officers approaching the chief of police, shaking his head,

"They're gone Sir," he stated.

"As I'd predicted," the chief replied solemnly, sighing and wiping his brow, "what about the girl?"

The officer shook his head, "Gone too Sir.

**I'm gonna be so cruel when it comes to cliffhangers XD What do you think? Will they be able to save Lauren? Will Joe survive? Please review and let me know what you think x x x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay chapter 5! Things are moving along now. Thanks to everyone that reviewed/favourited/followed x x **

**Reviewers:**

**Starkid5ever32:** _I did warn you ;) hehe and thank you x x x_

**TearsOfaClown:** _You'll have to wait and see ;) x x x thank you_

**starkidllamas-llama:** _Maybe they'll be ok, maybe they won't be :0 Thanks for reviewing, I hope your enjoying it x x x_

**Fan of the Just King:** _Aw thank you so much, that review was so sweet, seriously you're way too kind. Ya I know poor Lauren's having it tough at the moment but you'll have to wait to see what happen _

**AllThatIWant:** _I understand I'm probably inflicting severe emotional distress with this story!_ _I'm so glad you like it and I know poor Lauren and Joe.x x x _

**P0tterFanatic:** _Haha thank you. This chapter will answer some of your questions but with other things you're going to have to wait and see ;) x x x _

**starkid amy:** _You'll have to wait and see. Thank you x x x_

**Fudge-The-Tie: **_I can't stop! And there's more feels crushing to come so at least you're now immune! Thanks so much, I hope you'll be able to handle what's to come! x x x _

* * *

Lauren felt her heart rate quicken as a cloth bag was shoved over head the moment they stepped out of the train. A large hand grabbed her upper arm and pushed her forward roughly, causing her to stumble, however the man's tight grip on her prevented her from falling.

After a few minutes she felt a tug on her arm, pulling her to a stop., shivering slightly as the air got cooler. She gasped as she was lifted and then almost immediately dropped again, wincing as her shoulder collided forcefully with the floor. She heard the sound of doors closing behind her as she sat up slowly, desperately fighting the urge to tear off the cloth bag.

However she didn't have to wait long as a moment later it was removed. She looked around, eyes wide and fearful. The roar of the engine made her start and she realised she was in the back of a van. Shane, one of Kate's main accomplices, was kneeling opposite her,

"Hold out your hands."

Lauren jumped at the sound of the deep coarse voice and obediently held her hands out in front of her. Looking up she watched him locate a roll of duct tape from within a black bag pack. He started to wrap it tightly around her wrists, binding them together. Lauren tried to hold in the tears, not wanting to appear weak however as Shane moved to her ankles she felt a tear escape. She raised her hand automatically to wipe it away only to remember that her movements were restricted. She sniffed and Shane looked up. He looked around cautiously before his face softened,

"Look, Lauren is it?" he whispered to which she nodded.

"If you behave and just stay quiet they might let you live. I think Kate already likes you but there are other people to consider. You're small and ballsy – they might find a use for you."

Lauren clamped her lips together and bowed her head.

"They told me to gag you but I don't think we need it," Shane said softly, finished with binding her feet. It was weird to see him acting kindly towards her,

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Shane chuckled bitterly, "I can't possibly see how you can thank me. I'm sorry this happened to you and... for the record I think what you did for your boyfriend was incredibly brave."

The van hit a pothole, sending Lauren crashing onto her side. Without the use of her hands to break the fall, her shoulder once again bore the full force of the impact. She cried out in pain and felt a hand clamp over her mouth,

"I'm sorry; I just can't let them hear you in the front," Shane apologised, pulling her up. Up close Lauren noticed he looked a lot younger than she'd originally thought, possibly only a year of two older than she was. He had piercing blue eyes that reminded her so much of Joes. Shane didn't speak to her again after that but anytime she lost balance he caught her before she hit the ground.

After hours of driving she felt tired and stiff. The skin between her wrists was raw from rubbing against one another and her feet had gone numb. Finally she felt the van begin to slow down.

Shane picked up the duct tape and tore off a piece, giving her an apologetic look before taping over her mouth as the vehicle rolled to a stop. He opened the van doors and climbed out then turned to lift Lauren into his arms with ease. Curiosity got the better of her and she found herself looking around. It looked as if they were in an old underground car park except it was completely empty apart from the white van they'd arrived in and four large black Volvos with tinted windows from which people were emerging,

"Where's Marcus?" Shane asked, turning to a tall burly guy, who had climbed out from the driver's seat.

"Left behind," he answered emotionless. His eyes landed on Lauren, appraising her. He smirked and Lauren felt her blood run cold as she stared back,

"Prettier than what we normally get," he observed, grabbing her chin, "I'll put in a good word sweetheart."

Lauren didn't know what he meant by this but it certainly did nothing to quench her fear,

"Where'll I take her Morgan?" Shane asked and Lauren was sure she could detect a slight uneasiness in his voice.

"Upstairs," he replied, giving Lauren a cold sneer before stalking away.

* * *

Joe opened his eyes slowly, groaning as the bright artificial lights hit him,

"Joe? Hey man, you're ok, you're in hospital," Joey said leaning forward and lowering the volume on the tv. He hadn't left Joe's side since arriving at the hospital the day before. He felt he owed it to Lauren to look out for him.

"Water," Joe rasped, trying to sit up, only to give up due to exhaustion. Joey pressed the ASSISTANCE button to alert the nurses before pouring his friend a drink and holding it out to him,

"The others are down in the cafeteria," Joey informed him, "you gave us a bit of a scare. Darren even flew in last night."

Joe gave him a weak smile as the hospital door was opened and a friendly looking nurse walked in,

"Ah good to see you awake," she smiled warmly.

She busied herself checking his bandages and monitors while Joe tried to blink the sleep from his eyes. She seemed satisfied enough and offered to help him sit up,

"Those stitches are still fresh and the skin is tender, so be careful," she warned gently, "a doctor should be in shortly."

The anaesthetic was gradually wearing off and memories of being trapped in the train were starting to come back to Joe,

"That bitch shot me," he cursed, turning to face Joey as the nurse left.

Joey didn't have time to respond as the door opened again and the rest of the Starkids piled into the room,

"Thank God you're ok," Meredith gushed, rushing to Joe's bedside, "I thought we'd lost you."

Tears were streaming down her face. It was becoming a regular occurrence for this to happen and her words were muffled by the sobs that convulsed her body,

"Hey Mere, I'm fine. I just have a new battle scar," Joe joked weakly. Suddenly his eyes widened as more flashes of the train came back to him,

"Lauren," he murmured, twisting around to find her face. He frowned and looked to Joey, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when no one offered any explanation for her absence,

"Where's Lo?"

Everyone lowered their gaze as Joe's eye's looked on, begging for a logical reason as to why the girl he loved wasn't there. Joey swallowed and faced Joe,

"I'm sorry Joe, I tried… but…"

The sound of the TV news anchor's voice drowned out Joey's voice causing Joe to look up,

"…while police managed to prevent the second train from a bomb attack, over 50 people were held hostage by a terrorist group who demanded a ransom fee of $500,000 in return for the release of the passengers on board. Police are further investigating the disappearance of a young woman, who was taken by the group."

A picture of Lauren appeared to the right of the news anchor's head and Joe felt a tear slide down his cheek.

"…the 25 year old, identified as Lauren Lopez, was reported to be wearing blue denim shorts and a white t-shirt. Police are asking citizens to alert them to any information that might help in returning her home safely."

Darren turned the TV off as the weather reporter took over. Everyone was waiting for Joe to say something but he seemed to be slowly digesting the news,

"The police said they'll try…" Julia started

"What?" Joe asked bitterly, "they'll try to find her and bring her back to us and that's that, everything will be back to normal... What happened? Why didn't they let her go like everyone else?"

"She was their security to get away," Jaime choked, omitting the fact that Lauren had volunteered, "they picked her… and I know it's not fair and I wish it was me instead, but it's not and now… now she's gone,"

Everyone looked at Jaime, who was usually so composed and collected and Joey moved to comfort her. She hadn't said much since she'd arrived at the hospital and the effect of having to leave one of her best friends behind was clearly starting to show.

Joe swallowed before speaking,

"It just hurts to know that somewhere out there she is alone and scared and I can't do a Goddamn thing about it. What if she's..."

Joe fell silent, deciding to keep is fears to himself, while knowing it was a thought that had crossed everyone's mind. She could be dead. The thought was too much for him to deal with.

Joey rubbed Jaimes back as she cried into his shirt. "It'll be ok" - the phrase became a mantra as he rocked her gently back and forth, even though he knew things would never again be 'fine'.

** Hope you guys are enjoying this x x Review and let me know what you think. There'll be some Breredith coming soon!**

**Thank you, ye're all so sweet.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I'm so sorry for the late update. I'm on holidays so it's hard to get things done :s Anyway thanks so much to everyone that reviewed and favourited. This chapter is a bit different to what has been happening up to now. There's a bit of Breredith! **

**This isn't the best chapter but I felt really bad because I haven't updated in so long. I hope it's not too confusing. Don't be afraid to ask questions, I promise I'm friendly :)**

**Hope you guys enjoy and please leave a review or PM if you're curious or just wanna chat :) thank youx**

* * *

**6 MONTHS AFTER LOSING LO**

"Mere? Have you seen my blue sweater?" Brian called from the bedroom. Running his hand through his damp hair, he ambled out into the kitchen,

"Mere…" he stopped. Meredith's back was too him and she was staring out the window with a glazed look in her eyes,

"Mere, let's not do this today," Brian sighed, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. Immediately she relaxed in his embrace and leaned back against him for a moment before turning around and gazing up at him. She traced her fingers along his cheekbone for a moment,

"I just keep waiting for her to walk in the door," she whispered, her brown eyes flecked with sadness.

"We all do Mere," Brian sighed, tucking a stray brown curl behind her ear, "but we have to start living our lives again. You know that."

Meredith looked at him for a moment, deep in thought,

"I know it's been six months, but at the same time I can't help thinking that Lo's still out there. What if she's waiting for us to find her?"

Brian looked at Meredith and felt his heart contract, "Mere…she's gone…"

"But what if she's not?" Meredith insisted, "The police said the chances that she was alive were slim, not impossible. Lauren is a fighter Brian, she would beat the odds."

Brian took Meredith's face in his hands and leaned in so that their foreheads were touching. God, she was so beautiful. Keeping to his word, Brian had proposed to Meredith. He'd hoped planning the wedding might distract her from the constant reminder of their friend's absence, however it was proving to be more of a reminder.

"None of us want Lauren to be dead," he said quietly,"but we can't wait forever. We're getting married in April and we have the tour coming up in the summer."

She looked away for a moment before turning back to him and smiling sadly,"The girls and I are going for dress fittings today. It's going to be weird without her... the wedding will be weird without her."

Brian could already sense where she was going with this and inhaled deeply

"Maybe we should push the wedding back..." she suggested softly, fiddling with a loose piece of string on his shirt.

Brian leant in to kiss her forehead, "Stalling our wedding day isn't going to bring her back. Lauren wouldn't want you acting like this," he insisted quietly, "enjoy the day with the girls."

She nodded slowly, "I love you, you know that, right?"

"I do," he whispered, "I love you too."

Meredith allowed a small smile and kissed him lovingly on the lips before untangling herself from his arms,

"I'm gonna go shower," she murmured, giving his hand a squeeze as she passed.

He looked after her with a worried frown, as she drifted out of the kitchen. Everything had changed so much since that day on the train. Guilt tore them apart. Joe was still in the dark concerning the offer Lauren had made in order to save him and Brian was determined to keep it that way.

In the beginning, when Lauren's disappearance was still all over the newspapers and police priority, Joe had been relentless in his search for her, even flying back and forth to Washington to where it had all begun. He'd been the force behind the groups flickering hope. But things had changed as the days, then weeks flashed by, with no news.

* * *

**TWO MONTHS AFTER LOSING LO**

_Brian jolted awake at the sound of a ferocious banging on the front door. He glanced down at Meredith after sensing her move closer to him and saw she was awake, her eyes wide with fear,_

"_Who is that?" she whispered, her voice quivering._

_Brian climbed out of bed despite her attempts to stop him. He turned and put his finger to his lips,_

"_Stay here."_

_In his sleep ridden state, he stumbled towards the front door. As he got closer he was able to make out a muffled voice. However after a moment he recognised it and cautiously opened the door. Standing in front of him, soaked to the skin, was Joe, his arm raised to continue walloping the door. He lowered his fist, relieved,_

"_They called…the police," he sobbed breathlessly._

_Brian felt his body turn to ice and his stomach clench,_

"_They found a body," Joe choked, shivering as the tears flowed down his cheeks, "they want me to identify it but…"_

_Brian rested a hand on Joe's shoulder and Joe stopped, knowing Brian understood. Brian sucked in a lungful of air trying to get words out,_

"_I'll get my keys and we'll go," he finally managed. _

_He turned away but Joe's question stopped him immediately. It was the one question he was sure neither of them wanted an answer to,_

"_What if it's her?" Joe said, desperation and despair clinging to his words._

_Brian couldn't bring himself to face him as he felt his own eyes begin to water._

"_It probably isn't her," he replied, sounding far more confident than he really was._

_The body had been found a couple of miles outside of St Louis, so by the time they arrived at the City Morgue the sun was making its first appearance of the day. They had put on some lame late night radio station that played 'The top 10 greatest hits from the 80s' on repeat for hours. Neither of them cared enough to bother searching for another channel, both had their minds clouded with the possibility of only one thing. _

_They pulled into the almost empty carpark. Brian killed the engine and for a minute they just sat, staring at the large grey building in front of them. It was as cold looking as the people lying inside. They walked in in silence. A middle aged man wearing a shabby grey suit guided them down a long corridor. Brian squinted against the bright artificial lights that seemed to suck the colour from everything. _

_They reached a pale mint green door and stopped. Their guide turned and gave them a solemn look from behind his glasses,_

"_Are you both going in…"_

_Joe shook his head, "no, no, just me," he informed in a quiet voice._

_Brian didn't argue. He knew this was something Joe needed to do alone. The door was unlocked and Joe gave Brian a brief nod before following the mortician inside. The door closed with a grinding click and Brian was left alone in the dreary deserted ticking of a nearby clock, cut through the unbearable silence and with each second that passed he felt an invisible weight getting heavier and heavier on his shoulders,_

_Five minutes…. Ten minutes… fifteen minutes…. Time seemed to drag by. _

_Eventually, over an hour later, Joe emerged, his face pale and his eyes empty,_

"_Joe…" Brian started, assuming the worst._

"_It's not her," he croaked_

_Brian's first response was relief but that was soon replaced with a feeling of dread. Just because it wasn't Lauren this time, didn't mean it wouldn't be her the next time. He felt the walls begin the spin and the queasy feeling in his stomach returned with a vengeance. He reached out blindly, feeling for the nearest wall and leaned against it for support. It had been a long night. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, taking long drawn out breaths - 32 unread messages from Meredith. He clicked into the most recent one,_

_**Mere:**__ Bri, everyone's here and I don't know what to say anymore. We need to know. Is it Lo? Love you x x _

_He typed a reply, his fingers shaking and pressed send,_

_**Brian:**__ It's not her. Love you too Mere x x _

_He looked up and saw Joe was standing, leaning against the wall opposite. He had his head resting on his forearm, facing the wall. Brian could could see the muscles in his shoulders tensed,_

"_Joe… it wasn't her," Brian whispered. Joe nodded silently and faced him,_

"_ya, I know… can we? Can we go?" he sighed exhausted, "I don't want to be here."_

_Brian inclined his head in agreement and together they walked down the deserted corridor. Joe didn't utter another word until they sat into the car,_

"_I don't think I could do that again," he muttered, "I couldn't go in and see Lauren lying there. I'm done." He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a deep breath. Brian didn't know what to say so he started the car and left the cold building, with it's cold lifeless people, behind._

* * *

Joe had stopped searching for Lauren after that, afraid of what he might find. He'd lost the love of his live and that pain wasn't going to go away where ever she was.

Brian gasped as he felt a stinging pain in his hand and looked down surprised to see he'd been squeezing one of the kitchen knives in his hand subconsciously. He dropped it, shocked, into the sink and ran his hand under the tap. He watched as the blood mixed with the cold water, turning it from a deep red to a coppery stream.

After a few minutes the bleeding ceased and he grabbed some tissue, wrapping it around his palm. He turned as Meredith returned, plaiting her wet hair into two French braids,

"Are you ready to go?" Brian asked, forcing a smile on to his face for her sake. This was how everyday went by - each of them pretending that they were fine and moving on with their lives,

"I'll get my keys and we'll go," Brian said, thinking of the night, four months previous, when he'd said those exact words to Joe and how everything had changed so much since then.

**Until next time x x x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all you beautiful people, so I just need a little feedback:**

**1) Is the flashing back between the past and the present confusing or are people ok?**

**2) What characters/ couples would people like to get a glimpse of more?**

**Thank you to everyone so much for reading and especially those who took the time to revies, it means so so much. This chapter is pretty intense and I would like to stress that if anyone has any questions/ predictions/ opinions, I'd love to hear from you because I'm always looking to improve. Please review and enjoy x x x:)**

* * *

Lauren blinked her eyes open . She moved to stretch but found her arms tied tightly her back and for a second confusion clouded her vision before the memory of the last 24 hours rushed back to her. The last thing she remembered was being in the back of a van and then carried somewhere up a steep stairs, but after that nothing. Her ankles too had been secured around the legs of a chair making her feel extremely vulnerable and her back and shoulders ached,

"Ah, sleeping beauty has awoken," a coarse voice spoke from beside her causing her to jump. Marcus.

She felt herself go completely still, "It's just the two of us cupcake. We need to chat."

He walked around to stand in front of her, before crouching down so that their eyes were at the same level. He grabbed her chin roughly, turning her face from side to side,

"How old are you kid? 18? 19?" he smirked, pinching her cheek.

Lauren's eyes narrowed into thin slits. The height and age joke had long ago grown old.

"I'm 25," she spat venomously, trying and failing to shake her head from his grip, "get your hands off me."

Marcus merely chuckled and leaned closer, "the bitch has got bite."

Lauren felt a defensive anger flare up and was about to retort when Marcus put a finger to his lips and said very slowly in a low voice,

"I would think carefully before lashing out Lauren. Whether we decide to kill you or keep you, is up to me."

"Why would you keep me? Who are you people?" Lauren asked through gritted teeth.

"Who are we? We're just people who are sick of playing by the rules," Marcus reasoned, "why should we have to comply with society's restrictions? In a way we're just ambitious. We go and get what we want. We want you, so we're keeping you... it's that simple."

Lauren gulped and said in a quiet menacing voice, "you're sick."

"Don't you want to survive? Don't you want your family and friends to lead happy lives, without your bloody body showing up at their doorstep?"

Lauren swallowed and forced herself to look Marcus in the eye. She had to show strength, "what about all those people you killed on the train? what did you gain from that?"

"Our funds were running sparse and we needed something fun to occupy our minds. You were a little bonus," he winked, "and you're willingness to stay until the end was... flattering."

"I did it to save someone I love," Lauren growled.

"You sound pretty certain that he survived."

Lauren stopped as it dawned on her that Joe could in fact be dead and there was no way of her ever knowing. Marcus grinned like a schoolboy who'd just taked another kids lunch money,

"Love is funny like that sometimes. It hurts yet it's the one thing we crave more than anything else."

He smiled triumphantly as Lauren struggled to find an adequate response. He stood up and Lauren felt her head droop. She was too weak to hold it up herself any longer.

* * *

6 MONTHS LATER

Lauren shrugged on her cardigan and wrapped it around her torso before leaning back against the rickety headboard. Her room was small and sparsely decorated, containing an old sagging bed, a small bedside locker and a wardrobe. It had a lingering smell of dust and mould and seemed immune to accommodating Lauren with a comfortable room temperature. However, despite its almost inhabitable status, it was a brief escape from a world of constantly watchful eyes.

It was late and she could feel her eyes drooping as she fought to stay awake. Cautiously, she pulled a crumpled leaflet from her jeans pocket. Her hands shook as she unfolded it and read the bold heading,

"APOCALYTOUR"

She smiled sadly as her eyes graced over her friends smiling faces. She remembered taking this picture. She was shocked by how different she looked. Her long hair was now cut short, just below her jaw line and her once toned muscles had deteriorated, giving her an almost childish physique. It was her eyes however that bore the biggest change. The glowing brown eyes that were once filled with happiness and hope were now dull and murky. She sighed, there was no point reminiscing about the past,

"Lauren?"

She sat up at the sound of the deep voice and instinctively crumpled the poster in her fist. It was Shane. She hadn't heard him come in. Everyone here moved with a fluidity and silence that she'd never experienced before. It was unnerving.

Shane sat down on the bed, frowning slightly, and took the faded poster from her hands. There was no point in trying to hide it.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, smoothing out the poster and examining it,

"It was taped to an electricity poll on Williams Street," Lauren admitted, bowing her head. Shane handed it back to her silently, his face blank. He pulled a black pen from his pocket and reached across her. She watched as he drew a big black X across her smiling face,

"You have to face reality Lauren. This life," he said, jabbing the poster with his finger,"doesn't exist to you anymore."

"What? A world where someone actually cares?" she said quietly.

"I care," Shane said and Lauren swore she saw an ounce of hurt of his face.

Lauren lowered her eyes. It was true, he protected her or calmed her down and for that she was grateful but he often looked at her with a sort of possessiveness. There was two sides to him. He could be very sweet talking and sympathetic one minute and then the next dark and dangerous. She often had bruises on her arms from when he'd grip her too tightly.

"How did you... join this life?" she asked carefully.

Shane looked taken aback at her question. His backstory wasn't something they usually visited. He hesitated briefly before answering with a small smile,

"How do I put it... I suppose you could say it runs in the family."

Lauren frowned, "In the family?"

Shane's look of surprise quickly faded into one of amusement, "Marcus is my father."

Lauren felt her heart quicken. It made sense. Shane had a certain authoritative demeanor and respect despite his young age. Similarities between the father and son also began to form in her mind. What if Shane's attatchment to Lauren was what stopped Marcus from disposing of her?

Shane noticed her face pale and grabbed her wrist, "don't be scared. I'm nothing like him."

Lauren felt her shoulders tense as his hand reached up to her face. Slowly, she brought her eyes up to meet his. He seemed to be searching her face as his callused thumb stroked her cheek. Lauren remained still, fighting the urge to pull away from his foreign touch,

"You're so beautiful," he mused, leaning in slightly.

Lauren tried to tear her eyes away but something in his gaze held her captivated. Not knowing, perhaps, of the consequences that such a refusal might lead to. Shane leaned in further until their lips met. She squeezed her eyes shut as his free hand wound around her waist, holding her tight and pulling her closer to his chest.

His lips felt unnatural, but Shane seemed hungry for more and deepened the kiss, prising her lips open. Lauren tried to numb her senses and allowed him to explore. She wanted to push him away but she found herself powerless to his superior strength. He was in command and he knew it.

Eventually, he pulled away, smiling, "you're a good kisser."

Lauren swore she saw a disturbing glint in his eye, that told her there was no going back. She watched as he stood up and made his way over to the bedroom door. With his hand on the handle, he turned,

"Goodnight Lolo."

As the door closed, Lauren felt a tear slide down her face. He'd never called her Lolo before, no one here had. The last person to call her that was Joe. Since college it had been his nick name for her. Each time he'd said it she'd gotten a warm rush of affection. This time, as the name rolled of Shane's tongue, she felt her skin crawl and her hairs stand on end.

She didn't feel like a person anymore, merely a tool or a toy to be tossed around and abused. She almost wished they'd killed her. Anything was better than this hell.

**Until next time x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, yay new chapter! Please leave a review and thanks to everyone for their support, I really appreciate it x x x**

**This is just in response to a review by Tears of a Clown:**

** There are pretty big time jumps in this story so the characters are changing quite quickly. Lauren has been away from the others for over 6 months and at this point the thought of ever returning is seeming impossibe. She has not forgotten Joe, but she truly believes she'll never see him again and so she is turning to the only source of "love" and "care" she feels she has - Shane. IT's now 6 months later so she'd not tied up anymore. It's just a regular bedroom that she's been given that she was in.**

**Sorry, if I didn't convey that well. Hopefully this chapter will make things a little clearer :D**

**NB: The representation of starkid is purely made up and for the purpose of the storyline**

SIX MONTHS LATER: STARKIDS

_Joe froze as a twig snapped beneath his boot, and looked around. Hundreds of tall thick tree trunks surrounded him, their foliage blocking out the sun. The trees, in their overwhelming mass, were intimidating, their gnarled and twisted features casting grotesque shadows. But through it all he could hear a small voice…her voice. _

_He ploughed forward. He could feel her presence. She was so close. He started to run, ignoring the branches and thorns that snagged at his clothes, tearing them. His foot caught on a branch and he swore as his body slammed down, knocking the breath out of him. Gasping for air, he pushed himself up and staggered on. He could hear her calling for him. She sounded so scared. Finally he stumbled into a small clearing and stopped as his eyes fell on a small figure huddled on the ground, shaking._

"_Lauren," he whispered breathlessly, rushing to her. He pulled her into his arms and immediately felt her body go limp,_

"_NO, No no," he choked, pulling her hair back behind her ear. Tears poured down his face as he saw her brown eyes vacant and lifeless, stared back at him, her lips slightly parted, "no I'm here, you can't leave me Lo, no, no…."_

Joe sat up gasping, drenched in a cold sweat. He looked around and swallowed as he took in the familiar red and grey walls of his bedroom, "it was just a dream," he reassured himself, squeezing his fingers to his eyelids, trying to erase the image from his mind. He swung his legs out over the side of the bed and stood up.

Closing the door of the bathroom, he looked at his pale face in the mirror, glistening slightly from the beads of sweat reflected by the bright bathroom lights. He reached for the cold tap, struggling to turn it as his hands shook. He couldn't escape. Even in his sleep, she haunted him. Her cold fingers clamped around his heart, sucking the life out of him. He knew he needed to move on, but he couldn't. A part of him was even afraid of letting her go.

Going back to sleep at this point was pointless. He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and left the house, the cool night air shocking his lungs awake. He walked to the nearest 24hr garage. A bored teenager sat behind the desk, earphones in, his head bobbing along to the beat. He raised his eyes lazily as Joe entered before going back to his ipod. Joe headed to the self-service coffee machine and grabbed a cup. He heard the door to shop open as another nightly customer came in.

Yawning, he added sugar and milk to his cup before making his way towards the counter. The teenager leaned forward,

"That'll be $3.50," the teen yawned

Joe rooted around in his pocket and swore as he realised he'd no cash on him,

"Fuck, sorry I'll have to leave it."

The teen shrugged his shoulders and reached for the cup. However a woman's voice stopped him,

"It's ok, I'll pay."

Joe turned around surprised and started to refuse as the woman pushed a 10 dollar note into the cashier's hand. She had short blonde hair and grey blue eyes and Joe guessed she was of a near enough age to himself. She looked at him expectantly before picking the coffee up and handing it to him,

"Oh, thanks," he stuttered, taking the warm Styrofoam cup. She smiled shyly and collected her change. Joe walked out with her, holding the door open as she passed,

"Wanna sit?" she asked flopping down on a steel graphitized bench and taking a sip from her own steaming cup. Joe hesitated before nodding and joining her,

"So," she began, "what brings you out this late? Nightmares?"

Joe chuckled bitterly at the irony, "ya, I suppose you could say that."

After that they both fell silent for a few minutes. Eventually the woman spoke, "my name's Evelyn."

"Joe," he responded.

"You're a man of few words," she sighed, "you from around here?"

"Ya I'm an actor and member of a theatre production company set up here in Chicago."

"Wow an actor. That's cool. I'm just a sales assistant. What's your company called?" she asked. Joe knew she was only being polite, yet it felt nice to talk to a stranger, who knew nothing about him,

"Starkid," he answered, "we kinda got lucky after one of our shows went viral in college and we were able to make a career for ourselves... We're kind of on a break of sorts at the moment."

"Why? Did someone not get their own dressing room or something?" Evelyn joked, bringing the cup of coffee to her lips.

Joe paused before replying, "no am… one of our members passed away."

Evelyn spluttered and brought her hand to her mouth, "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

Joe shook his head, "no honestly, it's ok…. Her name was Lauren, the girl that died. She…she was amazing and it's just taking the team a bit of time to, you know… rebuild ourselves again."

Evelyn nodded, "that's understandable. It's difficult to lose someone you love."

Joe wondered if he was that obvious about how much he loved Lauren, when even a complete stranger could pick up on it,

"Harder than I ever imagined," he said lowly.

* * *

6 MONTHS LATER: LAUREN

Lauren emerged from her room, her few belongings, stuffed into a dark rucksack. She sat down and waited. Shane hadn't kissed her since that night a few nights before hand but there had been a definite shift in the way he looked at her, or maybe it was just that she was only noticing it now, she couldn't be sure.

She felt conflicted about her feelings towards Shane. It had been a long time since she'd felt like someone cared about her. She found him strangely compelling. Every look she stole a glance at him, she felt like she was betraying Joe, but she wasn't going to see Joe again, that much was certain. Marcus had informed her that she had been officially listed as deceased according to police records and that her friends had accepted her death and were moving on with their lives. She knew she should be happy but it hurt to think of them leaving her behind,

"You ready?" Shane asked, his eyes bright and alert, interrupting her thoughts.

She nodded her head absent-mindedly and stood. They were moving base today, to a new city. Lauren didn't even want to think about the motivation behind the group's sudden activity, but it wasn't for a change in scenery, that much she was certain of,

She stood silently as Marcus came in, followed by two men dressed in immaculate tailored suits. They eyed Lauren warily and Lauren gulped as she saw the handle of a gun poking out from one of their pockets. Marcus handed Shane two disposable mobiles and a small black handgun,

"Take the route we discussed last night and don't attract attention. Call when you're entering the city and I'll give you further directions."

He inclined his head towards Lauren, "she's your responsibility. If she stirs trouble, kill her."

Lauren sucked in a sharp breath of air, earning an amused smile from Marcus, "I know what you're thinking," he spoke gruffly, his cold eyes bearing into Lauren, "there's no point trying to escape. People before you have tried it and ended up in a morgue."

"She's not going to run…" Shane started however Marcus cut him off,

"I'm just making sure I'm clear, acting comes naturally to her."

She knew it was pointless to think about running, but she couldn't ignore the temptation to try. She could hide, find help. But she they'd find her, she knew they would. She'd seen enough of how they worked to know.

He smirked and turned to leave, throwing a set of keys over his shoulder. Shane caught them and faced Lauren,

"Let's go."

Lauren winced as the light hit her eyes, savouring the feel of the heat on her skin. She'd never been out the main entrance before. Shane's hand gripped her wrist as they crossed the road and he stood over her as she slid into the passenger seat of the sleek black Audi, that was parked waiting for them.

She looked out the car window and was surprised to see that the building they'd exited looked like a normal apartment block. How did no one notice there was an illegal organisation based there for months. Her hands were shaking as she moved a strand of hair from her face. Why didn't people notice? Shane started the engine and locked the car doors. Before releasing the handbrake he paused. His eyes were fixed straight ahead and the muscles in his jaw were tensed as he spoke,

"Please don't run Lauren. He'll make me kill you and I really don't want to do that."

* * *

**Please leave a review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story x x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay I'm gonna apologise in advance for this chapter because it's gonna be tough on the feels, but I promise things will get better.**

**Thank you so so much to everyone who reviewed/ followed, ye're sweethearts.**

**Keep the reviews coming x x x**

* * *

6 MONTHS LATER: STARKIDS

"Where are they?" Jaime moaned, checking her watch for what felt like the hundredth time, "their flight came in over an hour ago."

As if on cue, Darren and Joey emerged from the arrivals gate, lugging their baggage behind them. Jaime and Julia raced forward and threw their arms around the boys, sinking into their embrace and holding them. Seeing them reminded them of the support they still had. Joe followed the girls more hesitantly and Darren looked at him over Julia's shoulder, with pity and sadness in his eyes,

"How're you holding up?" he croaked

Joe shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his cropped hair, "Never thought I'd have to do this."

Darren nodded understandingly. They'd arranged a sort of memorial service for Lauren for the following evening in one of the local theatres. Lauren had never been overly religious and it seemed appropriate to hold it in a place where she was always so at home. It was something that needed to be done; an outlet to say goodbye. Lauren's family were arriving in the morning and heart-warming numbers of Michigan alumni had already arrived over the past few hours,

"We'll get through this together," Darren said quietly, his voice catching slightly

Jaime slipped her hand into Joey's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He smiled slightly but couldn't quite bring himself to really mean it. Julia stared down at the floor, not commenting, trying to distance herself from the reality of the moment.

She was finding it tough to adjust, feeling Lauren's absence every morning she woke and she wasn't there. She hadn't just lost a friend, she'd lost a sister. They'd embarked on the challenge of conquering New York together. Lauren had been the first one to read her book, they'd shout in anguish at the television when their favourite contestant was voted off and they'd been each other's source of comfort through the break ups and melt downs. It tore Julia apart that the one person she'd need most tomorrow night, was the one person that wouldn't be there.

The ride back to Starkid manor was mostly silent, everyone preferring to keep their thoughts to themselves. They'd agreed that everyone would stay together tonight no matter how crowded it got.

As soon as the car rolled to a stop , Joe got out, bounding up the front steps two at a time and through the front door,

"He's hardly talked these last few days," Julia whispered worried, "he was doing okay for a while, but this past week has just sent him spiralling backwards."

She exhaled heavily and fisted the steering wheel in frustration as she struggled to remove the key from the ignition. Darren placed his hand over hers and swiftly pulled the key out, handing it to her,

"I don't think he's the only one," Darren said softly, his eyes bearing into hers as if could see right into her soul, "We're hear for each other Juls, don't forget that."

They trudged up the steps, dumping their bags inside the front door before going through to the sitting room. The room was filled with familiar faces - Britney, Tyler, Nick, Matt, Devin, Richard and many more - huddled together on the sofas and floor, their eyes trained to the television screen. On it, a slideshow of photos from their college days played to a soft backing track.

Joey sniffed as a photo of him and Lauren laughing backstage during the Very Potter musical, appeared on screen. He felt a hand pat his arm reassuringly and glanced down to see that it belonged to Meredith, whose red eyes remained focused ahead. Her other hand was clasped tightly in Brian's as the video played on. When it ended, no one moved,

"Who made this?" Julia asked weakly

Everyone looked around, searching for an answer, "I didn't want people to forget her."

Joe's gruff voice came from the back of the room, his eyes shining and his hands shoved in his pockets, "she should never be forgotten."

* * *

Joey looked in the mirror, attempting to straighten his black tie,

"FUCK," he swore venomously, yanking the tie off and slumping down onto the floor. He'd hardly slept, his mind refusing to allow itself a few hours of rest.

"I can't do this Lo. I can't… it's my fault, I'm sorry," he sobbed, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

He could hear the sound of footsteps reverberating around the house as people got ready. He would be leaving in soon to meet with Lauren's parents beforehand and then after that it would finally be time to say goodbye. Surprisingly he'd managed to remain uninterrupted while he gotten ready and for that he was grateful. He needed to gather himself before putting back on the brave mask he'd been wearing for months.

He twisted the tie around in his hand, allowing its soft fabric to slip through his fingers. Black wasn't a colour he could associate with Lauren. He stood shakily and slowly placed the black tie on the bed before walking over to his suitcase and pulling out a blue one with pugs on it that Lauren had given him as a joke last Christmas. He placed it around his neck and tied it, glancing at himself in the mirror. It looked ridiculous with the black suit, but he knew Lauren would've smiled at the sight of it. The bedroom door swung open,

"We've the car ready out front," Brian informed him.

Joey nodded, "I'll be right down."

Brian smiled sadly when he saw the tie, "we never got her a damn pug."

Joey's mouth twitched up in humour, "the poor dog would've been cuddled to death."

"True," Brian sighed, "… we'll wait downstairs man. Joe, Julia, Denise, Jeff and Darren have already gone on ahead."

"Nah, I'm ready…" Joey trailed, taking a final look at himself in the mirror and pulling himself up straight, "let's go."

Jaime took a deep breath as she walked through the theatre door. Her eyes fell on Joe who was talking with Lauren's father. She could see effort it was taking him to not break down and, not for the first time, she wondered where he got the strength from. Lauren's mother sat quietly to the side, her hands wrapped in Julia's, who raised her head as Jaime, Meredith and the boys came in.

Joe managed to pull away from Lauren's father and came over to them, his face pale and clearly exhausted,

"Would it be okay of one of you spoke? I don't think I can..."

Joey examined his friends face and cleared his throat, "Of course. Are you sure you don't…"

"I can't," Joe stopped him, his eyes pleading, "I thought I could, but…"

"Joe, it's okay, I know," Joey reassured him, stuttering slightly, "I'll do it."

"Thanks," Joe whispered

Jaime looked at Joey, her face filled with worry, as Joe walked away. None of them should have to do this, but someone had to. She placed her hand on Joey's arm delicately,

"You sure you're okay with this?"

"Nope," he choked bitterly, rubbing her hand, "but I owe this to Lo."

As the memorial started, the Starkids couldn't help but feel disconnected, finding it difficult to focus on the words being spoken.

Lauren's mother said a few words but soon stepped down unable to go on, supported by her son while sobbing into his shirt. Finally it was Joey's turn to stand up. He walked to the front of the room, his eyes focused on the smiling carefree picture of Lauren in front of him.

He turned and took a deep breath, his eyes scanning the tearstained faces,

"I didn't think this would be something I'd ever have to do, so I apologise in advance for my lack of preparation. Lauren would have given out to me if she were here."

This earned him a sad chuckle from the crowd,

"There isn't anything I can say to properly convey the amazing person that she was. She was the glue that kept us all together, the one person that could defuse tension with a simple smile. She cared…" Joey felt a tear slide down his cheek and cursed himself for not being able to hold it together.

"You could literally feel the love she spread, whether it was through her words, through a hug or through a reassuring smile, Lauren was a glowing light."

Joey started to feel his words stumble into one another and bowed his head to pull himself together. He raised it again and out of the corner of his eye he saw Joe slipping out of the room before carrying on,

"I wish more than anything that she was here."

* * *

6 MONTHS LATER: LAUREN

Lauren groaned as she opened her eyes to see the sun disappearing over the horizon,

"What time is it?" she asked groggily, looking at Shane.

He smiled, "almost 7 o' clock. You hungry?"

Lauren nodded and wiped the sleep from her eyes and looking out the window,

"We'll stop soon for something to eat. There's surely a garage nearby. We're not far from Chicago."

Lauren suddenly felt wide awake. _Chicago –_ she was only a few miles from where all her friends were. She tried not to sound too interested, but she couldn't stop her heart thumping in her chest as she posed the question, trying to keep her voice steady,

"Is that where we're headed for good?"

Shane shook his, too distracted with checking the fuel levels to notice Lauren's anxiety, "no, just passing through," he replied, his voice trailing, "we're gonna need to stop for fuel soon."

They drove for another hour and Lauren felt her chest tighten as the signs indicated they were nearing Chicago city. She could see it's skyline in the distance and couldn't help imagining her friends among the throngs of people it inhabited. What were they doing right now?

It was dark by the time Shane pulled over into a large petrol station in the outskirts of the city. He turned to Lauren before unlocking the door, "not a word to anybody, got it?" He patted his chest pocket and Lauren was reminded the gun tucked away in there.

They entered the store together, Shane's hand resting on her lower back. However, it didn't feel like the gesture of affection or protection that it should have been. Her eyes locked with the cashier for a moment. The man was old but his twinkling eyes and benevolent smile relaxed her a bit and she found herself giving him a fleeting smile in return.

Shane nudged her lightly to turn down the aisle towards the drinks in the back,

"Don't draw attention," he whispered under his breath

"I didn't…" she began in a hushed tone.

"Drawing attention to yourself doesn't have to involve causing a circus show," he stressed, still glancing around cautiously, "simply by making yourself easily remembered could stir up shit. Just stay behind me when I'm paying and try to keep your face hidden."

Lauren was convinced she heard a slight tremor in his voice as he spoke. He seemed nervous and on edge and she realised with a sinking feeling that it wasn't just her life on the line if any suspicions were formed. Shane would be blamed and have to suffer the consequences. They walked up to the counter and Lauren, keeping to Shane's instruction bowed her head, pretending to be absorbed in the hem of her cardigan. Her hair, although shorter, still covered her face when left loose.

She walked out alongside Shane without looking back and crossed over to the car, climbing in without a word, a bottle of water and a chicken sandwich gripped in her hands.

Shane turned to her as he threw his jacket into the backseat, "Good job in there."

She didn't know why, but she felt sick as he said those words to her. It was like being praised for something you knew went against what was right. That had been her chance to get away but the fear of retribution had held her back. She felt bound to Marcus and his group by an invisible force that seemed to block her mind's ability to think fully for herself. Her identity was no longer her own and in that moment she understood exactly what Shane had felt in the shop only moments ago.

The car started and with a final look out the window she said goodbye to the gas station, but not quite before her eyes met a pair of familiar blue ones that stared back at her in shock. The interaction lasted only a second but she knew it would be enough. Joe knew she was alive.

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***Runs and hides***

**Please review x x x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok so this chapter isn't as long as I'd intended it to be because I'm finding it hard to get time to write now that I'm back to school. I'll try get the next chapter up next weekend. Lot's of action to come :) This chapter's kinda just a launcher for the next part in the storyline. Thanks again to everyone that reviewed/followed/ favourited. **

* * *

Joe's eyes followed the car as it sped off, zooming out of sight within seconds. His body shook as a tear escaped his eye while the rest of his body stood frozen, unable to move. The sound of a car horn snapped him back into reality and he jumped aside as a large jeep pulled off. He tore into the gas station, pushing the male customer at the counter aside roughly in his haste,

"That woman that was just in here," he gasped, his pupils dilating and his forehead wet with a cold sweat, "who was she with?"

The old man at the counter looked confused and slightly afraid as Joe's voice rose,

"Who was she with?" he repeated darkly, now gripping the counter so hard that his knuckles appeared white,

"The small one, with brown eyes?" he asked hesitantly

Joe nodded frantically, his eyes pleading for more information,

"She was with a guy..."

"Did she say anything to you?" Joe choked, locking eyes with the cashier who shook his head sorrowfully,

"I'm afraid not. I hardly got a glimpse of her face," he said apologetically, "Am I missing something?"

Joe took a deep breath and squeezed his fingers to his eye lids, "she went missing 6 months ago," he answered lowly, "we had a memorial today… all this time… I thought she was gone forever...I thought she was dead."

At this point it was clear that Joe was talking to himself and quite unaware of the worried looks the cashier and the few customers were giving him,

"What's was her name?" the man behind Joe asked cautiously

"Lauren… Lauren Lopez," he said steadily, "it was her…. I swear it was her."

"I'll call the police," the man said without hesitation, pulling out his phone and dialling 911. Joe felt a tender hand on his shoulder and turned to see the old man's kind face watching him,

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise…" he started

Joe stared out the window at the traffic flashing past, almost in a blur,

"Did she looked scared?" Joe asked, his voice catching in his throat.

"I really don't know," the cashier replied honestly, "She was very subdued… perhaps a little nervous."

Joe nodded and felt his fists clench. If he'd only gotten there a few minutes sooner, he could have gotten her back. The fact that a memorial for her was currently being held only a few miles away while she was clearly very alive made Joe want to laugh and cry at the same time. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to see a text from Darren,

"You ok man? Don't do anything rash. Come back to the theatre or even meet us back at the manor. Let us know you're ok at least."

His thumb lingered over the call button. _Should I call them?_ I tiny part of him harboured doubts that it had really been her. What if he'd imagined the whole thing?

He didn't have time to linger on the thought. The police arrived minutes later and immediately started taking statements from the small group of people clustered together at the front of the shop. Lauren's case was well known amongst the Chicago Police department and he recognised the few officers present.

"Sir? If you could take a look at some CTV footage and confirm the identity of the missing person."

Joe nodded numbly and followed the grey haired police officer through to a small room behind the shop counter. Joe stood next to him as he rewound the blurry black and white footage on the screen in front of them. He leaned forward as the video paused and he saw footage of a black car parked outside the shop. A minute later he saw a man and a woman approach it. The woman's physique certainly matched Lauren's, she was thinner, but identical in height and stature. However the woman's face was facing away from the camera,

"Have you any CTV inside your store?" the officer asked, as the old man hobbled in.

"Yes, it's just behind the cash register," he replied, turning on a second monitor.

Joe held his breath as the video rewound again. It stopped and Joe had to take a deep breath as all his uncertainties were washed out the window. It was her, there was no doubt about it. There was no sound to the footage, but he watched avidly, his eyes glued to her. For a second she lifted her head and seemed to almost stare directly into the camera lens before glancing away,

"That's her," he said, his voice coming out raspy.

The policeman nodded affirmation and got up, "we'll need to get copies of this footage for evidence," he stated, before getting up. He stopped and put a hand on Joe's shoulder. He had remnants of a southern accent coming through when he spoke,

"Sir, I've been on this case from the start and I promise you I will try my very best to get that young girl back home safe. When I first started out on the force, my very first case was similar to this one. We never found that girl. I retire at the end of this year and when Lauren's case appeared on my desk 6 months ago I thought it was God pulling a sick joke on me. I'm not going to let that circle complete it's course."

Joe swallowed, unsure of what to say however the officer seemed to accept his silence and excused himself to go consult with his colleagues.

Joe played back the material, re-watching Lauren's little glance up at the camera over and over again. He watched the way her hair swayed around her face and the way she twiddled her thumbs together as she waited behind her 'keeper'. Joe finally looked closely at the face of the man with her. The image was grainy and it was difficult to see a close up, but he was certain it was the same guy that had been on the train that day… the same guy that had pointed a gun in the faces of so many innocent people,

"What did you make of this guy?" Joe asked gruffly, startling the old cashier who appeared to have dozed off slightly in the chair beside him,

"Am… He didn't say much… Although, perhaps a little overprotective of her. He was clearly the more domineering of the two. Even I could see that…but not aggressive in any sense," he dithered, "as I said, they didn't spark any suspicion. I just presumed they were a normal couple."

At the mention of the word couple, Joe felt his chest tighten. The thought of Lauren involved romantically with a killer chilled him to the bone. He felt his phone vibrate again and saw he had 14 new messages from the other, all voicing similar words of comfort and concern. He had to tell them. He dialled Joeys number and looked at the screen for a moment before hitting the call button. Of them all, Joey had maintained the most hope that Lauren was still alive and Joe knew he was more likely to get a fair hearing from him,

"JOE! Thank God! Where…"

"She's not dead," he interrupted coming up against a dead silence on the other end of the line,

"I saw her. There is CTV footage…. She'd not dead," his voice trailed off, now waiting for a response.

"And you're certain it was Lo?" Joeys voice came shakily,

"Joey... it was her. Trust me, I would recognise her face anywhere... It was Lauren."

"I'm on my way. Where are you?"

Joe breathed a sigh of relief before giving Joey the details and cutting off the call. Although she was still in danger, Joe felt something he hadn't felt in months, hope.

* * *

Lauren tried to calm the pandemonium that was currently the inside of her head,

"I thought you were hungry?" Shane asked, his eyes darting to the untouched sandwich on her lap,

"Not anymore," she mumbled, turning away and looking in the side car mirror at traffic behind them as they sped down the highway,

"How long more?" she asked numbly

"I'm not sure, maybe 6 or 7 hours. I think I might stop at a motel for the night and get some sleep," he answered, placing a hand on her thigh and rubbing slow circles with his thumb, "You seem awfully quiet."

"Just tired. I think I'll go back to sleep for a while."

Shane nodded as Lauren faced away and closed her eyes. She knew that sleep was an unimaginable luxury that she'd never get but by faking, she was avoiding any questions that could be asked.

* * *

**Thanks guys, please review and let me know what you thin 3**


	11. Chapter 11

**OMG guys, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. IT was amazing to get so much feedback. Any suggestions, I'll try take on board. Hope you enjoy this on Please keep those reviews coming. Love you all x x x**

**A/N: All representations of characters are for story purposes only**

* * *

"Can the car be traced? Can you identify fingerprints? … Is there anything we can do, besides waiting here for fucking hours?" Joe shouted at the chief inspector, kicking the leg of the table.

Joey and Mr Lopez sat and watched the exchange silently. Joey had been careful with what he'd said to Lauren's parents and the rest of the team. They were only after saying goodbye to Lo, and he was afraid. What if all this came to nothing? Re-opening old wounds and giving them a false sense of hope. Lauren's father had insisted on accompanying him though and Joey knew there was no questioning the man's decision. On the way to the gas station they'd got a call from Joe, saying to meet him at the police station. They'd been directed to a visitor's room on arrival and had been there since.

Looking at Mr Lopez now, Joey felt for the man. It wasn't right that a parent should have to see their child go before them. Lauren had inherited his chocolate brown eyes and Joey felt a lump catch in his throat as he noticed, in her father's hands, a tattered old photograph of Lauren. At a guess, Joey would have said she looked about six or seven in the picture as she stood beaming beside a much younger version of the man that sat alongside Joey today,

"The fingerprints have been sent to the labs and we have the car's registration on nationwide look out," the inspector replied steadily, unabashed by Joe's flaring temper.

"Let them do their job son," Mr Lopez said quietly, "we know she's alive, that's a hell of a lot more than we had this morning."

Joe closed his eyes and reopened them again, taking a deep breath, "I know… it just feels like now that things are moving again I'm afraid if we pause for just a moment, we won't be able to keep going."

The chief inspector nodded curtly at the three men before taking his leave,

"Was she injured in any way?" Lauren's father asked shakily after a few minutes of silence, "was my baby girl ok Joseph?"

Joe looked directly into Lauren's father's eyes. What could he say to the man. _Yes, she looked wonderful Sir. _The truth was Lauren had looked scared and nervous; a shell of the effervescent smiling girl they'd known,

"She looked unharmed, but I don't know," he replied lowly, breaking their gaze. He could feel Joey's eyes on him as he hunched over in his seat, putting his head in his hands. He closed his eyes in exasperation as his phone began to ring. Pulling if out from his pocket he pressed the ignore button, not bothering to check the number. After a few seconds the ringing started up again. Again, he clicked ignore. However as the phone rang for the third time, Joe put the mobile down on the empty seat next to him letting it go to voicemail.

* * *

By the time Shane pulled into the motel, sheets of heavy rain were pelting down onto the windscreen, making it near impossible to see out. A flash of lightning lit up the ominous dark sky causing a shiver to run down Lauren's spine. They parked the car as close to the motel door as possible, pulling their coats around them as they made a run for it. Lauren breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped inside. She was drenched, even from the split second they'd spent running from the car to the door. Shane headed straight over to reception where a bony middle aged woman sat smoking a cigarette. She looked up as they came over and quenched the tip,

"A double room for the night," Shane said, throwing a bunch of dollar bills onto the counter. The woman snatched the money and counted it, choosing to keep quiet the fact that he'd paid almost double the normal rate,

"Here's your room key," the motel receptionist said blandly, sliding a card across the counter, "I'm afraid the lift is temporarily out of service but there's a stairway through the door there. Your room number is 204."

Her voice sounded crackly from, what Lauren presumed, years upon years of smoking. She gave Lauren a dirty look as she caught her staring at her before leaning back in her chair, moving an out of date gossip magazine to the side and picking up a nail file. It struck Lauren as odd that no form of identification had been requested. She knew that Shane possessed fake documents, for both of them.

Shane took the key and led them towards the door, stepping back to let Lauren go ahead as they began their climb up the dirty stairway. She looked around. She had the feeling that she'd been here before. The 'temporarily' broken lift, the faded carpet and the lazy receptionist all seemed familiar.

It was only when they opened the bedroom door that it occurred to her. She'd stayed here before, in this exact motel, just over 7 months ago during the Apocalyptour. Their bus had gotten a flat tyre just a few miles up the road, forcing them to stay the night. The place was a dump, but it had been cheap and convenient at the time. Now it brought back memories of a happier time,

"I'm gonna take a shower," Shane announced lifting his shirt off over his head and stepping out of his damp jeans. He spread them out over the back of the moth eaten couch,

"You look exhausted Lauren, get some sleep," he said, kissing her head, before padding off into the bathroom. Lauren sat down on the bed, hearing the springs protest. Since the gas station, all she could think about was Joe. The last time she'd seen him he'd been bleeding to death in her hands. He'd survived...Seeing him reminded her how much she needed him and how much she loved him. She didn't want a life that he wasn't in with her. She jumped at the sound of the shower being turned on.

She was still quite close to Chicago. If she could just contact Joe in some way, he'd remember the motel. Her eyes searched the room for a phone but there was none. Her gaze fell on Shane's jeans. Looking back to make sure the bathroom door was closed, she slowly got up and crept over towards the couch. Hurriedly she shoved her hand in the pocket, feeling her heart rate quicken as her fingers closed around a phone. Usually there were watching eyes always on her, but this was her chance. She knew as soon as they left this motel, they'd been reuniting with Marcus and Kate and the rest of the group.

She pulled the phone out. It was one of the disposable ones that Marcus had given Shane before they'd left. She dialled Joe's number frantically, having to re-type it twice due to her fingers shaking. She knew she was dead if she was caught but the adrenaline kept her from backing out. She listen nervously as the call connected. It began to ring, however after a few rings it was cut off.

She knew her time was limited and these disposable phones had a limited number of calls that could be made. She redialed, cursing as the call was cut off once again,

"Please pick up Joe," she whispered under her breath as she tried once more.

This time the ringing continued until eventually going to voicemail,

"This is Walker, leave a message or leave me alone," the recorded message played out. Lauren felt her heart contract as she heard his voice. She remembered him recording that voicemail. She bit her lip as she heard the beep,

"Joe... I don't have much time but I'm at a motel... It's called something like Sunset Lake I think... we stayed here before during the tour last May when the bus got a flat tyre," she took a deep breath as she continued on in a quiet voice, terrified that at any moment Shane would catch her. Thankfully the noise from the shower covered up the sound of her voice,

"I miss you Joe…I miss everyone. I hope you get this message before it's too late… I'm scared Joe, please just pick up this message... please."

Another beep sounded, signalling the end of the message. Simultaneously, Lauren heard the shower switch off. She hadn't realised it but she'd started crying and her cheeks were now damp with tears. She placed the phone back in Shane's pocket, careful to make sure that everything appeared untouched. She quickly stripped out of her wet clothes and climbed in beneath the covers in her underwear. She curled up in a ball as the bathroom door opened, attempting to warm herself up.

The thin scratchy quilt cover served little benefit. She squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Shane climb in next to her. His body heat, warmed her up a bit as he switched off the bedside light. All she could do now was hope that Joe listened to her message before it was too late. Shane would find out eventually that she'd used the phone, it was unavoidable. She just prayed that Joe would beat him to it.

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